TOME Kizetto One-shot!

I wrote this December 21, 2014, at like 6:20 in the morning.

It had only been two months since the Forbidden Power had finally been removed from TOME completely. Lately, Chris had been spending all of his time battling as Kirbopher, or hanging out with his friends. They were aware of his other account now- they hadn't taken it so well at first, but had since gotten over it- but it hardly mattered now. Kirbopher was the only account out of the two ever active.

One day, Kirb received a PM while seeking out a fight. This wasn't out of the ordinary, but he did a double take after looking at the sender of the message. The message read:

"Hi, Kirb. I know you're probably busy fighting Alpha or something like that, but could you do me a favor and log in as Zetto, then come meet me at the old base? Nothing is wrong, I promise.

-Kizuna"

Chris briefly wondered why Kizuna was even on TOME if her work had been accomplished. Then he kicked himself for wondering such a dumb question and logged in as Zetto, as he had been asked.

"Hey… Kizuna? You there?" He wandered around the moon until a shadowy figure grew out from a cat behind him.

"Well. It's about time."

Chris chuckled to himself. She said that whenever he was late, and the phrase was contagious.

"Anyway, I'm here now. So what did you want?"

The sharpshooter suddenly stiffened and drew in a deep breath.

"Why haven't you logged in as Zetto in so long?"

That took him by surprise. She'd promised nothing was wrong in her letter, but she never called a meeting unless she had important information.

"It wasn't necessary, I guess. Why does it matter?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, drawing in a deep breath, Kizuna replied, "Because I miss you."

Zetto raised an eyebrow in shock. "Where's Kizuna and what have you done with her?"

She let out a stiff laugh. "Very funny, Chris. As you can see, I'm rolling on the floor laughing."

Now Christopher was really confused. "I meant it," he said. "Kizuna doesn't miss people. Or want them around in the first place. Or have any feelings, really."

She turned cold and suddenly whirled around.

"Fine then," she said, "I see." Then she walked away.

"Um… What just happened?" He called. But she'd already logged out from TOME.

A week went by without her logging back in, and Chris was starting to worry. GC confirmed that her character was still functioning properly; she had simply chosen to remain outside of TOME's walls. He sent her a few PMs and didn't get any responses. Finally the suspense of it was too much to bear, and he logged out of TOME and got onto his phone.

New text message to: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Hey, Kizuna… Um… Sorry about a week ago, I guess. I'm not really sure what happened. You haven't been responding to my PMs, so I'm getting worried… Please text or call me back or better, get over here and tell me what's going on in person. You know my address.

-Christopher

It was two days later. Chris was sketching absentmindedly when he heard a knock at the door. He went over and opened it in shock.

"H-hey! Y-you came- um, come on in, I guess," He stammered, closing the door behind her.

Her expression, at least, didn't seem angry. It was some weird mix of frustration, sadness, and regret.

Holy ^&*()$, has she been keeping secrets from me? Chris knew that expression all too well, and he followed her cautiously into the living room.

She took a deep breath. "Chris, I-I'm sorry about earlier. I guess I'm not very good at conveying emotions.

He paused for a moment. Kizuna has emotions?

"Um… anyway… I'm here, so… yea."

There was an awkward silence.

"Ok… So are you going to explain what happened or just leave me hanging?" He asked uneasily.

The girl rolled her eyes but started to explain. "It was just kind of offensive when you said I didn't have any emotions. I mean, I get that it was probably a joke, but I was really tensed up that night anyway so… yea, I kind of snapped."

Chris blinked. "Alright. Sorry about what I said, it's just that, well, you almost never reveal what you're thinking. So when you said… y'know… I thought you were joking."

She sighed. "Yea, sorry."

He realized that she hadn't quite clarified the problem, yet. "Hey, why did you call me over in the first place? You never explained that."

She took another deep breath. "Promise you won't laugh."

He was a bit taken aback. What would Kizuna say that would be something to laugh at? She was always cold and professional. And smart. And kind of pretty. Ok, really pretty.

He snapped out of it. "I promise."

She sighed. "Fine. I called you over because I wanted to tell you something."

"And that is…?"

Hesitation. Then, "It's just what I said. I've missed you… like, a lot. I've missed your company and being around you. I know you've been logged in as Kirbopher, but I still feel like I'm talking to a different person when I'm with your accounts. And I wanted to talk to you, and… I dunno… maybe just hang out. I was really happy when you said I could visit you in person, because I haven't seen the real you since… what, like, since we were fired as Netkings?"

She laughed a little at the sour memory, but Zetto was still in shock. "Hang out?" HE was the one who was always pestering her to do that, but she'd never shown any signs of wanting to.

"I- I didn't realize that you still wanted me around," he stammered. "You always criticized me for being late and stuff, and… y'know… I wasn't really a good partner to work with."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. "What do you mean? Zetto- Chris- You're the best partner anyone could ever have. Yes, I criticized you, and I'm sorry for that. I guess I was just scared of my own feelings."

There was an odd silence for several minutes. Then she cleared her throat and spoke up again.

"Chris… I always got mad when you were late, or spending your time goofing off… but it's only ever been because I was scared. When that horrible virus was running around, and you were best friends with the person it possessed… I didn't want something bad to happen to you. Ridding of the Forbidden Power was my one and only goal because that thing was DANGEROUS. You almost-"Her voice suddenly caught off.

"Died. I know," he said sadly. "But hey- the thing is gone now."

"Yea, I know… that's why I thought maybe I could risk coming out of my shell a little. I can't blame you at all for being surprised, because I always kept my feelings to myself. That way I never got hurt. But I'm tired of living like that. It's like… It's like you, what with your Kirbopher account and all. You don't need to feel guilty anymore when you hang out with your friends, because now you've been truthful. You can just be yourself. I thought maybe I could be that way if- if I told you how I feel."

There was a long pause.

"And that is?" Chris asked softly.

She bit her lip, which he'd never seen her do. Yet her eyes had the same familiar, determined glare to them that said "I can handle whatever you throw at me."

"Chris… I- I care about you. A lot. And the thought of you getting hurt made… makes… me sick. The only reason I was so passionate about getting rid of that awful thing was because you could have gotten injured, which you did. I felt bad every time I yelled at you, but I never let it show. Like I said, I kept my emotions hidden, but I always had serious internal conflict going on."

Boy, he could relate to that. He remembered the pain he felt whenever his friends fought or teased him too much, and he suddenly felt ashamed. Had he made her feel that way unintentionally? She went on.

"I almost told you how I felt several times, but I never could. And to be completely honest, I never despised your friends like I seemed to. I was just jealous because… I guess because you like hanging out with them more than me- which I don't blame you for- and they got to see you when you were being yourself. I'm glad you had them, though. They were the ones who could make you happy and let you enjoy TOME for what it was- they kept you sane. And you were the only one who could carry that over to me and keep me sane. Without you always goofing off and telling me to lighten up, I'd probably be dead from being a workaholic." She laughed weakly and drew a deep breath.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is… Chris, I like you. I liked you from the start. And I know you probably don't feel the same way about me, but I still want to be your partner- and hopefully, your friend. I care about you deeply and I value your life above my own. If you ever need help on anything, ever, I'll do what I can for you."

Chris was as still as a statue, shocked. Kizuna… liked him? It seemed completely impossible and illogical, but when he reflected, it really should have been obvious. She kept her feelings hidden, one way or another, she criticized him, she pretended not to care about him, and yet she worked passionately to rid of what was destroying him… they were exactly the things that he always did to her.

"Um…" She waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his shock.

He was suddenly overcome with flooding emotions. He pulled her in and he kissed her, full on the lips. He wasn't going to let her go, not now, not ever. That stupid virus was gone and there was nothing to hold him back from her now. He held the most perfect girl in the world in his arms and he knew it.

Surprised, she paused, and then kissed him back. She threw her arms around him and, for some odd reason, started crying on his shoulder.

"Chris…" She whispered. "I love you."

He shut his eyes tightly and held her close, his real and robotic arms both around her.

"I love you too, Lillian," he whispered back. And he knew that he was telling the truth.